DUPAGE - Monday, December 2, is the last day to file petitions to be on the March 18, 2014 primary, and during this non-presidential election cycle, Illinois Republicans and Democrats will be voting on their parties' county, township and precinct level officials, as well as statewide, Congress, and county elected offices.
There's a few exceptions to the party's ballot lineup, though: Only Democrat primary voters will have the option of voting on their state central committee representatives. Republicans keep that pick in the hands of party officials. And in Cook County, party precinct captains are not on the ballot. They're hand-picked by party township chairmen.
Active Republican and Democrat precinct committemen and captains can be the most powerful, effective influences in political party primaries. They speak directly to their neighbors, know the issues of their precinct, and know who votes regularly. They can recommend and endorse ballot choices that can make or break political hopefuls.
However, precinct work is not sexy or glamorous, and doesn't get the attention statewide or congressional district candidates get. Precinct workers are for the most part party faithful, or those whose jobs are dependent upon who's in office. That's one reason why it's not uncommon for half of those precinct worker slots to be unfilled.
Dave Diersen of GOPIllinois.com put together a chart of the current precinct petition filings for one of Illinois' historically heavily Republican counties - DuPage, just west of the notorious Democrat stronghold of Cook County. After examining who has filed thus far through his county' clerk's election website, Diersen found that only 55 percent of the DuPage County precincts will have Republican precinct committeeman ballot choices next March.
The highest percentage of active precincts thus far filed is in Addison Township, where Chairman Patrick Durante has 79 percent covered. The lowest percentage is in Winfield Township, where Chairman Clifford Brown has only 19 percent filled.
Party precinct committeeman petitions required only 10 signatures from that precinct to get on the March 18, 2014 ballot. The last day for filing is Monday, December 2. Precinct committeeman candidate information for DuPage County is available HERE. Other counties have similar information available on their county clerk websites.
